1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to sensors that measure physiological signals from patients.
2. Description of the Related Art
Medical devices can measure time-dependent electrocardiograms (ECG) and thoracic bioimpedance (TBI) waveforms from patients. Such devices typically connect to disposable electrodes that adhere to the patient's skin and measure bioelectric signals. Analog circuits within the device process the signals to generate the waveform, which with further analysis yields parameters such as heart rate (HR), thoracic fluid levels, stroke volume (SV), 000cardiac output (CO), and respiratory rate (RR). Other systems within the medical devices measure vital signs such as pulse oximetry (SpO2), pulse rate (PR), and temperature (TEMP). Typically the medical device is remote from the patient, and connects to a body-worn sensor through a cable. Adhesive electrodes are sensors that measure ECG and TBI waveform; these are typically worn on the patient's chest or legs. Patients can wear an optical sensor on their fingers or ear to measure photoplethysmogram (PPG) waveforms, which are then processed to yield SpO2 and PR. Temperature is typically measured with a thermometer inserted in the patient's mouth.
Devices that measure ECG and TBI waveforms are often used to characterize patients suffering from congestive heart failure (CHF). CHF occurs when the heart is unable to sufficiently pump and distribute blood to meet the body's needs. The condition is typically preceded by an increase of fluid in the thoracic cavity, and can be characterized by shortness of breath, swelling of the legs and other appendages, and intolerance to exercise. It affects nearly 5.3M Americans and has an accompanying cost of somewhere between $30-50B, with roughly $17B attributed to hospital readmissions. Such events are particularly expensive to hospitals, as readmissions occurring within a 30-day period are not reimbursable by Medicare or private insurance as of October 2012.
In medical centers, CHF is typically detected using Doppler/ultrasound, which measures parameters such as SV, CO, and ejection fraction (EF). Gradual weight gain measured with a simple scale is one method to indicate CHF in the home environment. However, this parameter is typically not sensitive enough to detect the early onset of CHF, a particularly important time when the condition may be ameliorated by a change in medication or diet.
SV is the mathematical difference between left ventricular end-diastolic volume (EDV) and end-systolic volume (ESV), and represents the volume of blood ejected by the left ventricle with each heartbeat; a typical value is about 80 mL. EF relates to EDV and ESV as described below in Eq. 1, with a typical value for healthy individuals being about 50-65%, and an ejection fraction of less than 40% indicating systolic heart failure.
                    EF        =                              SV            EDV                    =                                    EDV              -              ESV                        EDV                                              (        1        )            
CO is the average, time-dependent volume of blood ejected from the left ventricle into the aorta and, informally, indicates how efficiently a patient's heart pumps blood through their arterial tree; a typical value is about 5 L/min. CO is the product of HR and SV, i.e.:CO=SV×HR  (2)
CHF patients, in particular those suffering from systolic heart failure, may receive implanted devices, such as pacemakers and/or implantable cardioverter-defibrillators, to increase EF and subsequent blood flow throughout the body. These devices also include technologies called ‘OptiVol’ (from Medtronic) or ‘CorVue’ (St. Jude) that use circuitry and algorithms within the implanted device to measure the electrical impedance between different leads of the pacemaker. As thoracic fluid increases in the CHF patient, the impedance typically is reduced. Thus this parameter, when read by an interrogating device placed outside the patient's body, can indicate the onset of heart failure.
Corventis Inc. has developed the AVIVO Mobile Patient Management (MPM) System to characterize ambulatory CHF patients. AVIVO is typically used over a 7-day period, during which it provides continual insight into a patient's physiological status by steadily collecting data and wirelessly transmitting it through a small handheld device to a central server for analysis and review. The system consists of three parts: 1) The PiiX sensor, a patient-worn adhesive device that resembles a large (approximately 15″ long) bandage and measures fluid status, ECG waveforms, HR, RR, patient activity, and posture; 2) The zLink Mobile Transmitter, a small, handheld device that receives information from the Piix sensor and then transmits data wirelessly to a remote server via cellular technology; and 3) the Corventis Monitoring Center, where data are collected and analyzed. Technicians staff the Monitoring Center, review the incoming data, and in response generate clinical reports made available to prescribing physicians by way of a web-based user interface.
In some cases, physicians can prescribe ambulatory monitors to CHF patients. These systems measure time-dependent ECG waveforms, from which HR and information related to arrhythmias and other cardiac properties are extracted. They characterize ambulatory patients over short periods (e.g. 24-48 hours) using ‘holter’ monitors, or over longer periods (e.g. 1-3 weeks) using cardiac event monitors. Conventional holter or event monitors typically include a collection of chest-worn ECG electrodes (typically 3 or 5), an ECG circuit that collects analog signals from the ECG electrodes and converts these into multi-lead ECG waveforms; and a processing unit that then analyzes the ECG waveforms to determine cardiac information. Typically the patient wears the entire system on their body. Some modern ECG-monitoring systems include wireless capabilities that transmit ECG waveforms and other numerical data through a cellular interface to an Internet-based system, where they are further analyzed to generate, for example, reports describing the patient's cardiac rhythm. In less sophisticated systems, the ECG monitoring system is worn by the patient, and then returned to a company that downloads all relevant information into a computer, which then analyzes it to generate the report. The report, for example, may be imported into the patient's electronic medical record (EMR). The EMR avails the report to cardiologists or other clinicians, who then use it to help characterize the patient.